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arty-shadow-morningstar · 3 years

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A Failed Betrothal (6)

Here is a new chapter for you guys. I am terrible at writing feelings and this is my best shot.😅 Tell me what you think.

[Masterlist]

(PART 1)(PART 5)

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(Words in bold is French)

“Tch, Drake is going to be busy trying to find Hawkmoth. He can’t go around Paris, being Dupain-Cheng’s boyfriend. Besides, he can’t be a proper boyfriend even in his most lucid moments. I will be her boyfriend instead.”

Tim was glad he didn’t take a sip of his coffee when Damian volunteered to be Marinette’s boyfriend. But he still choked on air. Jason with his limited knowledge of french was confused. Damian didn’t do what he heard, right?

“No, you can’t. Chloe already told them about Tim. If I come in with a different boyfriend, they would get suspicious. We can work on Hawkmoth while we go on those dates. Besides, I thought you don’t like me. That’s not going to sell the image of a loving couple.” Marinette pointed out. (She also doesn’t want to do this fake-date thing. Not because she likes Damian and she had always been a goner for green eyes and totally would be date him if it weren’t for some stupid curse dictating her feelings for him and fake-dating him might get her catch feelings for him and she would get her heart broken when this is all over and she would stay single forever and be a lonely old lady with hamsters and cats for company.)

“Actually, Mari-bug, I only told the class how romantic your boyfriend is. I never told them what he looked like. Just in case, Timothy couldn’t make it. I have back-up favors to cash in.” Chloe explained.

Marinette didn’t even know why she was surprised at that, this was Chloe after all.

“You have more than one American boy around our age in your debt who you intend to be my boyfriend? Sounds like you, Queenie. So that also means that Damian doesn’t have to do it if he doesn’t want to.”

“My offer still stands. I will be your ‘boyfriend’ before I have to go back. I will be more understanding than those other American boys when you have to rush out for an attack. That is to assume that they can come here or agree. In our initial meeting, I didn’t like that weak girl act you put up. Recent events have made me realize that you are a much stronger person. (Careful Damian, that sounds like a compliment.) You are a decent partner to date.(Shit. Shit. Shit. That wasn’t a compliment, right?)”

Damian couldn’t see why Dupain-Cheng would refuse such a good deal. He supposed her feelings might be still hurt from his first impression of her. He would give her an apology when they are alone and away from his brothers who would make a big deal of it.

“Fine. At least, the curse will at least make this fake couple thing more believable.” grumbled Marinette. The light pink blush on her face is not because he said she was someone he would date.

Oh right, the curse. He swore internally, it had possessed him to be Dupain-Cheng’s boyfriend. He now would have to endure the hand-holding, kissing and staring into each other’s eyes, and try to resist the curse which will be much harder now. Somehow, he didn’t regret it a little bit. It sounds more bearable with him doing those things with her than her with Drake. This was just a mutual agreement to ward off her suitors and prove to her classmates that she was off the market.

Chloe clapped her hands,“If we have everything sorted out, you can start being a good boyfriend by walking Marinette to school today. We want to be on time now.”

The others started packing up their stuff or finished what they were eating. Marinette was dragged out of the bakery by an impatient Damian. Chloe and Alix picked up what Marinette left behind and followed out. The rest soon left right after, leaving the two boys in the bakery.

“Hey, Replacement, tell me if I am wrong but did Demon Spawn willingly ask a girl out?” Jason asked, stealing a croissant from Tim.

“Try making himself the perfect candidate to be her fake boyfriend out of many choices, including me, and get her to agree to it. Now he has to go on a few romantic dates with Marinette in order to ward off this really pushy guy in her class. Demon Spawn also has a crush on her and he’s in denial of it. We are not hallucinating either. I’ve checked.” Tim replied, sipping his coffee.

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“Damian. Let go. Hey, Wayne, are you listening to me? Let me go. This is not how you treat your significant other. And you are not even going in the right direction.” Marinette all but yelled at him.

He released his grip on her. “My apologies for manhandling you but I wanted to tell you this away from everybody else.”

“What?” She asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

I- This is a little difficult to say for me,” Damian started. (Why were his palms sweaty? It’s just an apology. He had done it before although it was mostly because Grayson told him what he did wrong and made him do it.) “But I am sorry for calling you weak, pathetic and every other bad thing I have said about you when you have shown that you are anything but those. I was mad at myself for being caught and took it out on you.”

Her glare softened.

“Apologies accepted. The school is this way.” She said with a smile and went towards the school. Damian walked by her side, his hands in his pockets.

Marinette looked at where his hands were, “If we are going to do this fake dating thing, I suggest we hold hands.”

Damian grabbed her hand and continued walking in silence. Her hands were so small and fitted perfectly in his. Oh God, it’s the curse again. Turning him into a sap. Do not think about her hands. And the fact that she took down a man twice her size with them which was an amazing sight to watch.

“Why are you so stiff? Loosen up a little. You are with the love of your life. Smile a little.”

Damian plastered on a fake smile, “Happy?”

“It looks fake. Being a model he will be able to tell.” Marinette remarked, “Are you sure you want to do this? We can still go get Tim to be my boyfriend.”

“I can do this. Drake wouldn’t be a better choice. It doesn’t help that you are relentlessly nit-picking me. Or are you that bad of a girlfriend?” Damian couldn’t help but sniped back. “Maybe that’s why Chat Noir left you.”

He found himself back against the world and her elbow at his neck. (He would forever deny that he liked it.)

“Look here, Wayne. You know nothing about me and you shouldn’t assume that you do. Chat Noir was revoked of his status as a hero for his behaviour. If you don’t act the part properly, I am going to have my former partner, who has absolutely no sense of boundaries, harassing me in my civilian life and I have already dealt enough of his advances to last a lifetime. I have given you so many chances to get out of this which you refused and yet, you are half-assing it. So are you in this 100 percent or not? Because I am at the end of my patience right now.”

“The boy who is obsessed with you is the former Chat Noir?”

“Yes, I will explain about that later but what’s your answer?”

“I will give it my best shot but I have never pretended to be in love.”

“Were you not taught in the League?”

“There were seduction tactics shown to members when they were old enough and I left them when I was 10 but I am not sure if those skills can be applied here.”(Slamming your opponent against the wall wasn’t one of them but she was doing a great job of it so far. No. No. No. He is not his father. This is different from whatever he has with Kyle.)

She released her hold on him and grabbed his hand, leading him towards her school.

“Well then, here are the basics. Everytime you look at me, just think of your favourite things to make your smile a little more genuine. Maybe call me by a pet name if you want. Keep your touch on me like you can’t keep your hands off of me and act really reluctant when you have to let go. You will only keep them my shoulders, arms, hands and waist or I will break your hand. I will do the same. If you are going to have to kiss me, give me a warning.” He looked into her blue eyes and nodded.

“Alright.”

“Oh. I almost forgot. In case they try to question our relationship. My favourite colour is red. My favourite song is ‘Fearless’ by Jagged Stone.(I love Taylor. Sue me) And we met online a few months ago. You came all the way to Paris to see me a month ago and asked me out. We will talk more that later. Oh, I also love designing and have dreams of being a famous fashion designer.-”

Marinette rambled on which Damian found a little endearing. He looked forward to knowing more about her. He added a few comments here or there about himself (because it was only fair.) and ways to improve their cover story about their relationship.

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“We are nearly at school. Let’s start the act, Romeo.” Marinette whispered at him and looked at him with a bright smile that brought a tiny smile to his face. Okay, maybe he liked Marinette a little bit but that doesn’t mean he’s in love with her.

He moved her hand holding his to the crook of his elbow.

“Is this acceptable, my lady?”

She wrinkled her nose, (Adorable. No. Don’t go there) “This is fine. But can you not call me that? And princess too? I may have erased his memories as Chat Noir but it could be a trigger to bring them back.”

“Understandable. What about Malak?”

She blushed. Marinette had learned Arabic a while back and was very fluent in the language.

“It’s okay.” She said in a soft voice. She put her other hand on his bicep and leaned on his shoulder.

“You don’t look like a touchy-feely person so is this fine?”

“Yes.”

“Cool, let me tell you more about the atrocious lies that had passed her mouth.”

They walked into the school courtyard, arm-in-arm, for the entire school, especially Marinette’s class, to see. The perfect picture of a loving couple. Marinette’s blush from earlier was evident on her face, leaving no room for doubt about her new relationship status. (Many guys, gals and pals were upset over it.) As they both walked up the stairs, whispering and laughing about who knows what (gulliable and idiotic classmates they have to suffer learning with), two pairs of green eyes followed them.

In this case, the saying ‘green-eyed monsters’ was true. One was envious of the boy who held the girl he wanted in his arms and the other was envious of the attention the couple was receiving.

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Damian escorted Marinette to her class. He gave her a kiss on her cheek and said, loud enough for the class to hear, “Bye, Malak. I will pick you up after school for our date.”

“B-bye, Damian.”

He took her hand, gave a kiss to the back of it and departed, leaving a very red-faced Marinette behind. The rest of the class parted the way as Damian walked past.

She rushed into her seat where Chloe sat beside it, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

“Sooooo, Mari-bug, how was your date? You two rushed out of there so quickly and left your stuff behind. So eager to spend time with your boyfriend, eh? You enjoyed it very much by the looks of it.”

“Sorry about that, Chloe. Did you bring my bag and the cheese danishes?” Marinette tried to change the topic. And she also wanted to make sure a god of destruction doesn’t go hungry and angsty during school. “Yep, here you go,” Chloe said, handing Marinette her bag and a box of cheese-flavoured snacks for Plagg, “Your mom packed some for you.”

“Marinette. Where have you been the last two days? And you came back with a boy. I am honestly worried about your behaviour.” Lila played the concerned classmate wonderfully.

“Yeah, Marinette. This is a new low, even for you.” Alya added.

Marinette readied herself to tell the cover story Damian and her worked out on the way here.

“Lila, I appreciate your ‘concern’. But the last four days have been a little hard on me so excuse me if I am a little snappy today. You see, Damian disappeared and didn’t return home after school on Friday. So when he didn’t pick up for our weekly video call, I panicked and called his family and they told me what happened. They sent me a plane to get out of Paris so I can’t get akumatized.”

“Was that why you were gone on Saturday?” Chloe asked, playing along although she already knew why Marinette wasn’t in Paris the last four days.

“Yeah. Sorry for not telling you guys. It was sorta last minute. Thankfully, he wasn’t kidnapped actually. His biological mother picked him up but never told his father that she was taking him. I just came back last night. Dami followed me to make sure I am okay.”

“What a bunch of bullcrap.” Alya said, “I don’t believe you.”

Oh. The irony... “Alya, I don’t care if you do. My life is my own business. So keep your nosy nose out of it. Your opinions don’t matter to me anymore, stranger.” Marinette internally was tired of this silly routine and wanted this to end already.

Alya wanted to pick a fight with her over the smallest things she did for the past months. She wondered why her former best friend hated her this much.

“Lila told me that you were skipping school and you paid an actor to be your pretend boyfriend.”

Pretending to not hear what Alya said, Marinette turned towards Chloe, “Hey, you never told me about how you met Tim. I can’t believe that you two are friends.”

“We met at one of those charity galas-”

“Hey, we were talking to you.” Alya cut her off. To which Chloe glared at the ombre-haired girl.

“I thought our conversation was done. What else am I supposed to say?”

Marinette was frustrated and hid that fact well, showing any reaction would give the game away. If she had reacted, it would further fuel the fire of Alya’s self-righteousness, making her believe that Marinette was somehow guilty of what Lila told her about. Lila managed to turn nearly the entire class against her by appealing to their ‘hero’ side and outbursts from Marinette and the others made them more sure of themselves of being in the right. It was so deep-rooted that nothing would sway them to logical reasoning. Maybe except Phase 2. Phase 1 was made a little easier when Talia kidnapped her and made her miss a few days of school.

Phase 2 was to not acknowledge the lies or just appear uninterested. It would illustrate the point that people don’t have to listen to them if they don’t want to. If possible, sow little seeds of doubt to the ones Lila had a looser grip on. The more people they can slowly get on their side, the better.

Alya was confused, usually Marinette would throw a ‘temper tantrum’ about how she didn’t do that and Lila lied.“I-, you should-, You should apologize to Lila.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, “For what this time?”

“For saying that she was lying.”

“Pray tell, when did in any of our conversations so far did I do that? I mean I don’t like the fact that she just accused me with little evidence of paying my someone to be my boyfriend but I am not going to fight with anyone over it. Maybe I did do that, Maybe I didn’t. Maybe there is a good reason I did those things. The thing is Lila should keep to her own business and I will keep to mine. And as should you. I know you are a reporter at heart but you should at the very least respect my privacy.”

Alya stayed silent, fuming. Everyone was looking at them now. She realized that the designer was right and if she pushed further, she would be the bad guy.

“I thought so. Now, go away. I have nothing else to say to you. Let Chloe finish her story of how she met Tim which you so rudely interrupted.”

“Who’s Tim?” Lila asked, wanting to know more about Marinette’s boyfriend to work on an angle to get him away from the ravenette.

“Mari-Bug’s boyfriend’s older brother. Now, shoo peasants, we are talking. Anyways, Mommy took me to when I was younger so I could mingle with all the other rich kids and get connections. Timothy was there and back then, he was still with the Drakes...”

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Lila and Alya returned to their seats, both were visibly upset although Lila was seething inside. When Marinette was not at school for the last two days, the Italian thought that it was the last she had seen of her. Today, she showed up with a handsome boy on her arm and by the looks of his clothes, rich too. If she manages to get ‘Damian’ to break up with that pest and date her instead, then she would have a rich, handsome boyfriend devoted to her and that brat would be so heart-broken that an akuma so powerful would be made that even Ladybug won’t be able to defeat. A two for one deal. Lila started planning (scheming) to take her boyfriend away.

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(Part 7)

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Edit: I am so sorry. I forget to add the taglist.

Tag list: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0, @myazael, @tonicxworld, @thewitchwhowaited, @t1dwarrior-of-earth, @kissa-chan, @iwantasecretidentity, @theymakeupfairies, @user00000003, @woe-is-me0, @kashlyn, @mochegato,@moonlightstar64 , @greatcatblaze, @moongoddesskiana, @tazanna-blythe. @tonicxworld, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @frieddonutsweets, @local-witch-of-mn, @lady-bee-fechin, @iglowinggemma28, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @k-tea-and-coffee, @jayjayspixiepop, @all-mights-asscheeks, @idk-j-go-with-it , @loysydark, @thenillabean, @lolieg, @zalladane, @silvergold-swirl, @henie04, @blueblossombliss, @khneltea, @mochegato, @itsmeevie01, @roguishredaxion, @alyssadeliv, @steph-hearthlight, @adrestar, @eliza-bich, @abrx2002, @hikari55ttva, @doglover82, @daminette5074, @moon5608,@justafanwarrior, @allis-sun, @animegirlweeb, @aespades, @corporeal-terrestrial, @mildlydeadly, @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl,

#damian x marinette #maribat #ml x dc #daminette #mlb x dc #a failed betrothal #betrothal au: take 2

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astranne · 4 years

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Miraculous and The Light (HC)

Ok, so. This HC is based on this idea. It’s a miraculous x dc crossover and one of the best ideas, I’ve read recently. I really liked it and this is why I’m forcing myself to write my ideas down.

Before we start the HC, I need to clear some things. Marinette becomes the guardian in age of 13, the kwami are teaching her as good as they can. Luka has the snake miraculous, Chloé the bee (but new costume), Kagami the dragon (again new costume) and Adrien is Chat Noir. Alix has the bunny and Kim the ape miraculous. (The two are chaos and they smelled Lila’s bullshit before she came back the second time). They deal with Hawkmoth as good as they can and they do good. Until Lila does her shit again. She manipulates Alya, which leads also Nino to be one of her followers and since Adrien is his best friend, he starts to listen to Lila. He becomes obsessed with Ladybug and her identity. The team doesn’t really notice, since it’s subtle and slowly becoming worse. So, now let’s start with the HC.

The Team protects Paris, Marinette is the leader

The situation becomes worse, the akumas take longer to defeat

They try to contact the JL, but nobody listens

And Chat Noir comes lesser to the fights, claiming his privat life is stressfull

At first, everybody understands, but it doesn’t stop and Chat becomes like a bad behaved child/brat

Lila causes another Hero Day, the Team almost looses. Chat Noir didn’t show up and the Team is angry. Chloé is ready to skin a cat

After the Hero Day, they accidentally reveal their idtities. Their group becomes closer, everybody can see, they work even better now.

Chat is envy

And Tikki is angry. No, scratch that. She’s mad. This boy could’ve been such a good cat, and now this?!

Since Plagg is her opposite, and she’s the one of Plagg, they keep each other in balance. And they aren’t in balance at all. She takes over Marinette (while she is Ladybug) and starts to rip Chat/Adrien in shreds

Whole Paris witness this and is terrified. Who knew Ladybug had such power?

Chat tries to save his face/life/’hero’ persona, but since Marinette is the guardian, she stripps him of his Miraculous, while Tikki wipes out his memories. Adrien’s former friends are sad, but also glad, they have one problem less

But now. Since Tikki used her more of her powers, some people notice, such as Klarion. He’s the server of chaos, but keeps in balance with creation. And the two aren’t balanced at all.

He talks to the Light, and surprise, surprise. Ra’s al Ghul and Vendal Savage felt it too

They begin to search and are surprised, that so many miraculous are active. The Light digs deeper and Vendal is very close getting up and burn Paris down. And take Hawkmoth with it

The inner circle of the Light (Vendal Savage, Klarion, Ra’s al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke (there are still more members, but I will explain shortly))

Now, their primar goal is not to take over the world, or make everyone ‘see the light’. That’s what the ‘lesser’ members think (the ones, who are not in the inner circle) They want to keep the balance in the world, keep ‘peace’. But they know, it can’t be always peace, with creation there comes always destruction (Tikki and Plagg are totally their inspiration and mentors or whatever you could call that) And for this, they don’t always do ‘good’ things, like heroes do

Bc of this, every hero, every other villian thinks, that the light is bad. It’s a very good cover and so they can hide their true plans. So, the inner circle sends Black Manta after the Young Justice (the season 2 happens here) and go to Paris.

They find the miraculous users while fighting an amok and an akuma and are impressed. Clearly, most of them have no training and they hold themself formidable.

The inner circle talks with the team, which is wary. But then the kwamis recognize them and the teenagers (probably 15?) are so glad, that they finally have help. Not the one they expected, but still help

Vendal was one the first guardian, a simple man and then blessed by Tikki and Plagg. He trained other guardians and miraculous users until he almost died

Ra’s al Ghul was once a dragon, but also used the cat miraculous. This is the reason, why he can use the lazarus pit and isn’t mad

Klarion knows about the kwamis, the first gods, often makes rituals and such stuff. But he never saw a miraculous before

Deathstroke knows about the miraculous, but never knew, what power they truly hold

Lex Luthor knew about them too

The team is offered a traditional training with the League and since they are all true holders, they will master it faster than anyone before. Vendal wants to train Marinette as the guardian, after she finished hers with Ra’s. Deathstroke will be their mentor and Klarion will teach them in magic.

Lex takes them under his wing, teaching them about buisness, money, politics and manipulating

They train and fight Hawkmoth for two years. Sometimes, Vendal takes over as Chat Noir, sometimes Ra’s, to keep Marinette and Tikki balanced. But they need to find her true holder, which isn’t that easy, while they are still in training and fighting

The team is around 17/18, when they finally defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura. The major of Paris and the president of France tell the world finally the truth about the situation (world is shocked (especially when they hear, that the Justice League didn’t help))

Now, the heroes want to help, after Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Dr. Fate, as well Zatanna, kicked their asses for being dumb bitches. When Batman doesn’t stop (he’s an ass sometimes, but I don’t hate him) they threaten to leave the JL. He doesn’t belive it and suddendly he has 4 members less.

The four go to Paris, even when there is a heroes ban. They offer their alliance, but keep their distance, which everyone is glad.

Since Hawkmoth and his sidechick have been defeated, the Miraculous Team retires. Or so everybody thinks.

They all leave Paris, letting their friends and family think they have a job/go on vacation (Kagami and Luka fake their death, Marinette too)

Lila is smug, bc she thinks, she won, since Alix and Kim just leave and Chloé is a weeping mess

The six go to the League, where they learn new/more things and become the elite squad of Ra’s.

(Ra’s is totally a proud parent, who shows, how much his kids are better than anyones. Well, as good as he can with his stoic face)

The six still use their miraculous, but have new costumes (darker colors, mostly black)

And so life goes on, until the JL and the YJ attack the light. They take many hits, loose many bases and the first time, the heroes meet the squad

The six are just called ‘the squad’. They switch miraculous, so the heroes don’t make connections.

(Marinette is White (rabbit), while Chloé is Red (dragon), Kagami is Brown (monkey), Alix is Blue (snake), Kim is Scarlett (ladybug), Luka is Black (cat)) Over their costumes, they wear a typical League uniform.

They totally rip the heroes apart

Anyway. The JL and YJ are wary about the sqaud, they all know, they are deadly. Some think, even deadlier than Deathstroke.

After the attack, the squad meets Lady Shiva and Talia al Ghul

And her new pet project

You already know it. Jason Todd

His mind is fucked up, he doesn’t remember much until this woman in red smiles at him and just hugs him? Girl, this is the league?!

Jason is totally Marinette’s black cat.

He’s suddenly being trained (can you imagine a confused Jason Todd, trained by Vendal, Klarion and the rest of the team? Bc I do) and partnered with Plagg, who absolutly loves his new holder. There is so much chaos in him, he even survived the pit!

The squad goes on mission, mostly to mess with the JL, who notice, there is a new member. And oh shit- he destroys everything. And there Superman curmbles to ash... (no worries, he’s brought back)

Jason isn’t trying to kill Bruce, well, he still fights against Batman, but he doesn’t want him dead (the heroes think, the squad tries to kill them)

Some years pass (I have no idea, what happens in season 3 (Young Justice) since I didn’t have the time to watch it) the miraculous slowly become balanced again and the team is doing great

Until Talia snitches Bruce (bc she’s a little bitch) that Jason is alive. Not only that, he’s a part of the squad. Ra’s personally tries to kill his daughter- bc no Talia! You can’t just go and tell secrets! (silently crusing in many languages about the balance and how his own daughter betrayes him) He’s so angry, that he disowns his daughter and claims 7 year old Damian as his heir.

Bruce tries to hunt Jason down, but no success

Marinette takes Damian under her wing and gives him the miraculous of the tiger (Damian is so proud, that he’s a true holder). She and Jason become somewhat his parents, just like the rest of the team

Alix and Kim are totally together, as well Cloé and Kagami, while Luka has a on/off relationship with Lady Shiva, who is the true holder to the fox miraculous

Talia attacks the league, when Damian is 10 and takes him to his father

Damian hides the miraculous and Roarr, but Alfred knows. He always knows. (Totally cliche, but he’s the true holder to the peacock)

Damian acts like a brat like in canon, but can be such a softy

But only with his true family

Jason moves to Gotham, becomes the Red Hood, while Marinette becomes Scarlett (his partner)

The rest of the squad starts to recruit new holders and start to train them, often visited by Jason and Marinette

One tragic night, Batman fights against Red Hood, almost kills him, when Scarlett breaks his arm. Robin (Damian) comes to help, freezes, when he sees his family. He stops fighting, takes a deep breath and turns to his father.

Batman is confused, but then Robin says, that this is Jason, the second Robin and that he will not fight family

Batman lashes out, being an idiot, talking some nonsense about Jason being a criminal and suddenly Robin disapears. The big bat thinks, his kid went home

Well, he does, but not the Manor. He follows Jason and Marinette and sleeps a night there.

Then his father starts to search him (Damian) and finds him with Jason

Totally a fight there

Until Alfred comes and makes them to sit down and talk

Jason explains everything, telling Bruce, that the squad doesn’t exist anymore, bc of Talia.

He causally says, that Marinette is his girlfriend, that they somewhat adopted Damian, after Talia was banned.

Bruce tries to wrap his head around this, but slowly accept this new part of his family

It takes some time, but Jason (Red Hood) and Marinette (Scarlett) become a part of the Batfam

They lead the new Miraculous Team in secret, keep in contact with the inner circle of the light

This goes well, until Tim finds out.

Bruce lashes out again, bc what the fuck- his own child and his wife (they married) are spying for the light?! He tought they destroyes that damned organisation

Damian runs with them

They go to Nanda Parbat, where they meet the new recruits.

Now, every kwami has a true holder

Balance is perfect as it can be

Two years later, Bruce still tries to find Damian, in the hope, he isn’t with his older brother and his wife

He still is

Then Ra’s has enough of this drama, talks with the inner circle of the light and the kwamis

Kidnaps the batfam

Explains everything

Like everything

Slowly the batfam understands

Bruce is so proud that two of his sons are true holders, one of them literally can control chaos

The batfam starts to help the inner circle of the light, the other members think, this heroes finally saw the light

I can totally see the lesser memebers dumbfounded faces, when the whole Batfam shows up

Vendal starts to explain

“Batman was trained under Ra’s al Ghul himself, Batwoman followed.”

“Nightwing was trained by Deathstroke.”

“Red Hood was trained by Lady Shiva, Deathstroke and Ra’s al Ghul and is a former member of the squad.”

“Scarlett was trained by myself, Ra’s al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Deathstroke and Batman. She was the leader of the squad.”

“Red Robin was trained, like all the other Robins, by Batman. Lady Shiva took him under his wing for some time.”

“Signal was trained by Batman, Red Hood and Scarlett.”

“Batgirl was trained under Batman, Nightwing and Scarlett.”

“Black Bat grew up in the League and is the daughter of Lady Shiva.”

“Robin is my grandson and the son of Batman. He was trained under Scarlett and Red Hood, when they still were in the squad.”

(Did I forget someone?)

Gaping villians

But when Vendal says, that Batman will be part of the inner circle, as well Red Hood and Scarlett. they loose their absolute shit.

They fought the whole time with their allies??

Vendal then also says, that this will be the last meeting and they will all forget, that the Batfam is a part of the light

“Well... we can’t take risks, can’t we? We don’t want to repeat an incident with the Young Justice again... because of this, only the members of the inner circle will remember our prupose and the light itself.”

Batman then says to the JL, that he will leave the League, since this is going nowhere

The Batfamily is now officially a hero group and more loved than the JL, bc they don’t destroy much in their fights and if they do, Bruce Wayne pays. They keep in the shadows, which means, no civilians hurt AND many villians retire, when they hear, that Batman will fully remain in Gotham. They don’t try anything, bc he always seems to know

Okay... this is much more, than I acutally wanted to write and in the end, it didn’t came out as I first thought. But I hope you still like it, bc I like this version better

And it’s in the middle of the night, so if there are any mistakes... I don’t care :)

Masterlist

#headcanons #miraculous #dc #jasonette #i'm not patient enough to tag everything #justhugefangirl writes {🥀}#justhugefangirl creates {🌹}

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crazyrandomfucker · 4 years

Text

Marichat May Day 17: Balcony

Summary:

After Kagami broke up with him, Adrien decides to patrol for a bit to clear his mind. Coincidentally, Marinette is out on her balcony to wash away the bad taste on her tongu after breaking up with Luka.

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When Adrien hung the phone, he felt his entire world crumbling. -kagami had just broke up with him, allegging that eventhought Adrien did genually care for her, he didn't truly love her. He felt devastaded as he had invested on their relationship as he never had done before. What was he lacking? Was he not expressive enough? Should he had put even more effort into it? Noticing how distressed was his holder, Plagg simply floated towards him and purred while he gently carressed Adrien's face. Without uttering a word, Plagg sat at the top of the miraculous and Adrien understood the message: He needed to take some air and excercise to think about it and get over it. He transformed and leaped out of the window, darting towards the unknown in the dark of the night.

Meanwhile, Marinette was in her balcony, lazily restin her head on her balcony's handrail. It had been two hour ago, but after she had broken up with Luka she couldn't get rid of the bad aftertaste that linguered her mouth. The relationship between them wasn't going bad at all, but Marinette knew deep inside that it wouldn't work at the long run, she knew that even if they made a good couple, they simply weren't meant to be, just like her previous crush with Adrien. Marin came and left a blanket on her shoulders to warm her up, then he left with Tekke and Tikki to leave some space for her. She sighed as she contemplated the night sky. Had she been wrong? Luka had seemed to understand it and accepted it as if he already had expected it from some time ago. And yet, there she was, wondering if this was just another mistake too add to the list.

As Chat Noir pole-vaulted himself between roofs, the corner of his eye caught the sight of a girl pondering her decisions by herself. The familiarity gave him a vague sense of deja vú as he went closer to that balcony. He landed on the rooftop right next to the balcony, making sure that she saw him to not scare her. She notices him and his somewhat down expression, so she waves him to come closer. Chat Noir carefully jumps and lands swiftly on the hand rail, walking on it and sitting next to Marinette.

"Hey Princess" says Chat Noir. "Mind if this mangy cat keeps you company?"

"Of course not, silly" says Marinette. "I think I need some and, judging by your face, so do you".

"That I can't deny" says Chat Noir staring at the void.

"This reminds me of the first time we met on my balcony" says Marinette. "Even if we had already met previously".

"You're right as always Marinette" says Chat noir letting a chuckle escape. "We should really stop meeting like this at your balcony".

"Yeah, we should" says Marinette smiling. Then she sighs and the smile fades away.

"Tell me" says Chat Noir.

"Huh?" asks Marinette confused.

"What's on your mind. Tell me what is making you overthink like this" explains Chat Noir.

"It's nothing. I broke up with my boyfriend, Luka" says Marinette. "But now I'm thinking that maybe it was a mistake".

"Were you happy with him?" asks Chat Noir.

"I usually was, bbut there were these times when everything felt off" explains Marinette. "As if we were two pieces of a puzzle, but we belonged to different puzzles".

"Then maybe you made a mistake" says Chat. "Or maybe you didn't. No one can predict the future just like no one can fully comprehend our emotions. I think that it has to be you who decides wether it was a correct decision or not".

"And that's why I'm still here. Because I don't know" says Marinette looking at the streets below.

"You don't have to. Not right now at least" says Chat Noir. "It's still too present for you to analyze it properly" says Chat Noir.

"Thanks Chat" says Marinette. "Now, tell me".

"What is the secret for my perfect mane?" asks Chat forcing a smile.

"No silly" says Marinette smiing. "What brings you here?"

"I- My girlfriend broke up with me just a few minutes ago" says Chat Noir. "My love wasn't enough for her apparently, I was lacking".

"Chat, I couldn't ever imagine you being lacking if it's about love" says Marinette. "Overbearing? Maybe. Exagerated? For sure. But not lacking".

"Then what did I do wrong?" says Cat, with a tear in the corner of his eye. "What was my mistake? I thought that I was involved in our relationship, I always tried to make her happy and pay attention to her".

Marinette feels a pang on his chest, recalling her recent break up with Luka. "I don't know Chat" says MArinette with tears on her eyes. "I can't know. Maybe she was confused. Maybe she was scared".

"Maybe she wanted someone differet" says Chat. "It wouldn't be the first time a girl I love loves someone else. Why would someone ever chose me?".

Marinette slaps Chat Noir. "Stop self-depreciating yourself! You're a wonderful guy! Lot's of girls would want to date you. Maybe Ladybug was in love with someone else, but she values you dearly. Maybe your girlfriend left you because she loved someone else, but it's her loss because you're amazing Chat!"

"Princess..." says Chat Noir. "Please. Don't give me false hopes. I know I'm important to Ladybug and Lordbug, we're more than simply partners. But no one has ever looked at me, the real me, and fallen for me. My relationship with my girlfriend principally begun because of pure business matters and even if she says that she fell for me, I can't believe it now!"

"Chat. Noir" says Marinette in a dead serious voice. "I told you long time ago that you shouldn't deny your sister feelings, but that also applied to the rest of people you know. How can you deny that she loved you? You can't know that!"

"I don't know that! I know nothing! 've been living inside a manor for thirteen years, trapped between four walls with the only company o my sister, our bodyguards and my father's assistant!" exclaims Chat losing it. "I know nothing of interacting with others like a normal person! And I don't even know how I feel! What are even feelings?!"

Marinette grabs his face and looks him straight in the eyes. "Chat Noir..." she hugs him tightly, not saying a word as she cries over his shoulder.

"Princess? Mari, what's wrong?" says Chat Noir, worryong that he had just made a mistake with Marinette once more. "Please, tell me what's wrong. I'm seriously worried".

"You! You are wrong you stupid cat!" says Marinett crying. "I'm sorry for saying all of those things, but it's not an excuse how you were brought up! I just want to kick your father and make you learn about emotions and feelings!"

"No offense, but you aren't exactly a great example of emotions Marinette" says Marin from behind them.

"Marin?!" exclaim with teary eyes Marinette and chat Noir.

"How much have you been there?" asks Chat.

"Around when you talked about your girlfriend breaking up with you" says Marin putting down a cup of hot tea. "I was surprised to see you both like that, honestly".

"Why are you even here?" asks Marinette.

"Oh, nothing. I was just bringing you some tea to help you relax a bit like a worried brother would do" says Marin non-chalantly. "Now I think that I'm a cup short. Anyways, I leave you here and go make two more cups of tea, I think I'm begginning to need one as well".

"Wait" says Chat Noir, but Marin is already gone. "Why did he said all that?".

"He probably was refering to my old crush, which turned into an obsession and when I finally gave up on him I was depressed for a month before I began dating Luka" says Marinette.

"You loved someone else?" asks Chat Noir confused.

"I did. It was a silly crush I had on a guy after he proved me wrong and showed me how kind he is" says Marinette looking down. Tears begin to crawl out of her eyes. "But it was just a stupid crush. There was no way he would have ever noticed a plain normal girl like me. He got a girlfriend and I knew that we simply weren't meant to be. I already forgot him".

"Then why are you crying like this?" says Chat Noir clearing her tears with his finger.

"That's your fault and Marin's for messing with my emotions" says Marinette crouching. "Now all the memories and my feelings for him are coming back again and it's making more painful my break up!"

"I- I'm sorry Marinette. It wasn't my intention to..." says Chat Noir. "I- I better leave you alone before I mess everything more".

Marinette grabs his arm and pulls himinto a hug. "No! I want you to stay! Stay by my side until everything goes off".

"Okay" says Chat Noir.

Thy stay in the balcony for quite a bit, Chat holding Marinette on his arms while Marinette cries and desperatedly tightens her grip on Chat Noir, letting all of her pent-up emotions flow in one go. Eventually, she calms down and hugs Chat Noir, thanking him for staying by her side and for always bbeing there for her. As an apology, Marinette makes Chat rest his head on her lap while she pets him in a soothing rythm, gently passing her fingers through his har and giving her a feeling of relief, relaxating and feeling warmer that he's felt for a long time.

#marichatmay2020 #miraculous ladybug #miraculous au #miraculous fanfic #Twins!Au

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fapangel · 7 years

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You've been screeching bitch tears about antifa as though you're part of an opressed people, yet you never once showed anywjere near the same condemnation when a white supremacists shot up a black church.

This showed up in my inbox alongside this:

Note the focus on non-whites getting shot. I haven’t condemned any recent mass-shootings by other spree-killers either, but all he cares about is the one where white people shot black people. Hmm.

The same applies to police shootings. Gun owners - like me - are keenly aware of how often cops kill law-abiding gun owners of any color for no reason - such as Daniel Shaver, who was gunned down in a hallway as he was belly-crawling towards police on their orders. Why? Because someone saw him, through his hotel window, holding one of the air rifles he used in his pest-control job and called the cops. And the cops - upon being told that a private citizen was seen holding a longarm in the privacy of his own hotel room, decided to come down on the place with a fucking SWAT team like he’d been seen strapping on a baby-lined suicide vest or something. The cops shouldn’t have been there at all, much LESS fucking magdumped on him as he was crawling towards them face-down, on their orders.

Or how about the recent killing of a white woman from Australia, who was shot dead by the very police officers she herself called for help? Better yet, the fuckup who shot her fired because he heard a “loud noise” - and he shot across the squad car, past his own goddamn partner in the driver’s seat.

But who gives a fuck? They’re all just “a white male”, right? But when people of color are murdered for no fucking reason by incompetent cops, then it’s a big fucking deal. Then it’s problematic, and systemic racism. As someone who has a concealed carry permit, I’m intimately familiar with how many cops persecute permit holders - the guy dating my sister for a while was pulled over by the cops in a nearby town, and they split them up and started questioning my sister and a friend that was with them about why her boyfriend had a gun. He has his permit on him, and they knew it was valid, since they can look that up in their car’s computer. But they still treated him like a criminal waiting to happen.

But of course the left-wing fucks who’ve fought gun rights in general, and concealed-carry in particular, every step of the way, don’t give a flying fuck - until a black man with a concealed license was shot, and then they’re racing to make up lies about how the NRA didn’t denounce it “enough.” All because the NRA didn’t immediately take to social media to denounce the cop as evil racist murdering scum. Failure to automatically assume the cop was 100% at fault was unacceptable, nay, counter-revolutionary. Never-you-fucking-mind that Colin Noir, a black man, gun supporter, and chief champion of the Black Guns Matter movement, pointed out that “the NRA doesn’t need to make a statement about Philando, because they gave him his own show. I’ve been fighting for gun rights under the NRA brand for years.” Yeah, this young black man has his own damn show on “NRATV;” and as the Guardian story notes, this NRA-sponsored, endorsed and supported commentator, using the NRA’s own platform, was scathingly harsh on the police for the Philando Castile shooting. But who fucking cares about that, right? Failure to reflexively and immediately blame whitey for being the evil one is unacceptable.

This is symptomatic of the racist narratives that underpin the entire left-wing’s movement - it’s clearly visible in the anarcho-communist Antifa’s obsession with “defending minority communities by any means necessary.” It’s the way collectivists think - not of individuals, but of communities. Ergo, the Black Community, the Asian-American community, etc., is the smallest unit of concern they have. To conceive of people as individual citizens, equal before the law, is alien to their way of thinking. Witness this shithead lambasting me for talking like I’m an “oppressed people-” to him, that’s the only unit of legitimacy there is. Only oppressed people get to bitch - and if they are oppressed than any murder, violence and mayhem is justified in the name of revolution.

This is why Black Lives Matter supporters are ambushing cops across the country, and why anyone who disagrees with leftists on immigration policies - including Trump and all his supporters - are labeled fascist Nazis who deserve to have their heads smashed. The left is just as racist and race-obsessed as the white supremacists they claim to be saving us from. They’re just another team playing the same horrific game - and naturally, if you dare disagree with them at all, you’re labeled as one of them, as this fuckface here’s trying to do with me. And as we’ve seen with the spate of craven cowardice from various GOP politicians and CEOs, being called a Nazi or white supremacist is a slander with terrible power in our society. It’s how the left bullies dissidents into silence so they don’t point out that violent, radical leftists are the exact same kind of scum. Fortunately, there’s still people with the courage to call them out.

As for this violence not being “new,” that’s a blatant fucking lie. “Neonazi” groups in the past could be broken down into two rough groups; skinheads, who are violent chav fucksticks in general who get Nazi tattoos because they’re edgy and mean, and Illinois Nazis, goose-stepping attention-whore clowns that’ve been the butt of jokes since the 1980s, as the linked clip demonstrates. You’ll also recall that when Antifa staged mass riots to disrupt Trump’s inauguration and torched a Muslim-American immigrant’s limousine in the process, or when they showed up with shields and weapons to violently assault people at Milo’s University of Washington speech, or when they smashed windows and brutally beat bystanders before Milo’s planned speech at Berkeley, there was no organized resistance to them by anyone at all. The first time someone actually came prepared to fight back, he was so alone in that regard that he became his own meme, the “Alt-Knight.” It wasn’t until the April 15th event that the “alt-right” showed up at all; that event was when about 50 Oath Keepers showed up and a white supremacist with a characteristically retarded haircut socked some skanky antifa pornstar. (This is also the event where Eric Clanton went around smashing skulls with a u-lock for Antifa.) Since the media is useless and real reporting is dead, Mr. Retardo Haircut is the only White Supremacist's presence I can verify, but at the time I saw discussion on /pol/ naming white supremacists that’d flown in from Europe, which should give you some idea of how miniscule their numbers are - Antifa mobilized 1,500 or so rioters - not “protesters,” but actual masked hooligans with weapons smashing shit - to shut down Milo’s speech. Hell, the Ku Klux Klan themselves had a fucking rally in Charlottesville back in July, and they mustered... 50 total dudes. The “white supremacists” have had better turnout during various clashes in Portland, but as the Willamette Week notes, said supremacists are almost always skinheads and biker gangs, demographics more defined by being criminal, anti-social fuckbags in general, with “white supremacy” being an excuse to put cool viking patches on their jackets. Not surprising, considering Portland’s been called “skinhead city” in the past.

Compare that to Charlottesville. The media breathlessly predicted as many as “a thousand” white supremacists would show up - how many actually did, I haven’t seen any news agency put a fucking number to, aside from “hundreds,” referring to both sides - and considering that they were carpooling and flying in from as far away as Texas, I doubt there was that many - but it was still more than showed up at any prior event. If one presumes that the retards carrying tiki torches the night before were all white supremacists (as opposed to everyone who showed up for the actual event the day after,) counting torches visible in this video and this one with airborne drone shots, there were at least 150 or so - still pathetic turnout for an event scraping people from all over the country, but still three times the actual white supremacists verifiable present at any other event. Furthermore, this time, lots of them brought shields and clubs and helmets, ready to scrap - mirroring antifa’s own tactics.

This is new - and if you want to know where it comes from? What’s driving this? Look no further than this video that shows the white supremacists, in their own words, crediting the unceasing aggression and violence of the radical left as being the chief thing pushing new recruits into their arms. Fucking hell, Bannon went on-record crowing about how he wants Democrats to talk about racism every day not five days ago. And what’s more, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE FUCKING TOLD YOU ASSHOLES WOULD HAPPEN. I, personally, said it on this very goddamned blog:

Some people do actually believe this shit and they are mostly Democrats - hell, here’s a Gallup poll with the numbers if you doubt my analysis. And to re-iterate, they’re inflaming extremists on both sides of the spectrum, because the more violence antifa commits, the more the Illinois Nazis will croon “see, we were right all along!”

The “Nazis” were a bunch of fucking retarded CHUDs seig heiling on dodgy message boards and defending the supreme might of das Reich’s wunderweapons on WWII forums - until you miserable fucks catapulted them into the national spotlight, and then legitimized them by using violence against people you claimed were them; making it seem like you couldn’t beat their arguments, so you had to resort to force, like knuckle-dragging thugs. You could never tell the difference, because you’re insane zealots who consider any disagreement with your sacred politics - such as immigration law - to be absolutely unforgivably fascist. You motherfuckers started this, because you refused, refused to accept the outcome of a democratic election. You vile bastards are pushing this country further and further towards civil unrest and even civil war, and you’ve got the fucking gall to tell me I’m pretending to be concerned about them becoming violent, when I was warning about this back in fucking May?

I’m not going to stop blogging, writing, or tweeting - because you fucks will never stop trying to destroy the foundations of our nation’s civil order to get your way. I’m not going to stand silent while you bastards do your utmost to plunge our peaceful and prosperous nation into a new era of civil strife, hatred and bloodshed.

So keep crying, you bastard, because I’m not going anywhere.

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sfaioffical · 5 years

Photo

Shauna Rosenblum was born and raised in Alameda, CA, which is a small island off the coast of Oakland.

She finished her BFA degree in Ceramics from CCAC in 2006. In 2008 she earned her MFA from SFAI in Sculpture. Now, she is a professional Winemaker, making 12,000 cases of wine annually in the Bay Area at Rock Wall Wine Company, located in Alameda, CA. She considers grapes to be her artistic medium and her wine is her art. Shauna was recently named one of the 10 Top Female Winemakers in California by Haute Living, so we decided to catch up with her and see what she’s up to. Here’s what Shauna had to say!

Hi I’m Shauna, (MFA Sculpture, 2008).

Conceptual art, performance art, ephemeral art, fermentation art, whatever you want to call it, making wine is an art. Making wine is the perfect synthesis of science and art.

Every move I make with the grapes requires a decision. That process of decision making is one of the most powerful parts of this art form. Just like working with clay, I can shape it this way, or I can shape it that way. My underlying philosophy in ceramics has always been that the “clay is going to be whatever it is meant to be. I am the catalyst to help manifest what it should be.” I apply that same philosophy to winemaking and really let the chemistry and the flavors of the fruit guide my decisions to make the best wine possible. And…Who doesn’t love a lil’ scientific data to inform ones art-making processes?!

My Master’s thesis at SFAI explored the concept of women bodies as containers. I made functional ceramic vessels that incorporated women bodies. One piece was titled, “You’re too fat, you’re too thin, cookie jar.” It was a very curvy woman’s body that had her mouth being sewn shut. The opening for the cookie jar was tiny, so one could only grab a cookie if their hands were very thin/small. I also created a two-foot tall functional vase that showed a woman turning from a mermaid to a woman as her tail disappeared, she gained the rest of her female body parts. Her facial expression showed jubilation, but she also donned a fully grown Pinocchio nose indicating that the metamorphosis she was supposed to be thrilled about undergoing was not her true feelings.

I brought the concept of the female as a container into my wine cellar, and I’ve named all of my tanks after women I admire: Oprah, Martha, Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling and, of course, Beyoncé. I also have a row of tanks bearing the names of my fave fictional heroines; Arya and Sansa, Katniss and Primrose and of course, Gem. I know, “it’s truly, truly, truly outrageous.”

SFAI: What projects have you been working on recently? Is there anything you’re particularly excited about or inspired by at the moment?

Shauna Rosenblum: YES. My art has become far more about observing the world around me and engaging with that observation. This concept really informs the wines I decide to make, and the label copy I create for the back label of each one of my wines. My earlier art was far more about making objects, which came from my craft based undergraduate training.

I love making sparkling wine. Sparkling wine is Champagne, but we call it sparkling wine because it is made outside of Champagne, France. Only sparkling wine made in Champagne France can be called Champagne. I pick these grapes much earlier than the rest of my grapes, to keep the bright acidity intact. The acid in wine is what makes your mouth water when you taste it.

I have also started doing a deep dive into mastering Italian varietals such as Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Fiano, and Teroldego. I study the varietals, the vineyards, the soil, the weather, the growing cycle and the outcome of the fruit as I make it into wine.

Studying the vineyard sites at this level inspired me to write a paper about climate change and the effect on agriculture and the economy. I decided to focus on three different micro-climates: Castro Valley, (in the Bay Area) Lodi and Oakville (a small section of Napa that grows world-class Cabernet Sauvignon) and explore the temperatures and degree days each micro-climate experienced in 1990, 2000, and 2017. What I found is that the climate is definitely shifting. Shocker! Somebody alert the President.

The findings were slightly different than I anticipated, though. Thirty years ago, experts would have said that someone was nuts to grow grapes in the Bay Area, because our climate was too cold.

The ideal climate for Cabernet is hot days and then a diurnal swing to very cool temperatures at night. That creates the best flavors and acidity in wine.

In 2017, Oakville experienced temperatures similar to Lodi in 1990, as in hot days, and nights that didn’t cool off as much. In 2017, Lodi experienced weather patterns similar to Oakville in 1990, which was hot days and very cool nights.

The largest diurnal swing occurred in Castro Valley. In 1990, the weather did not get hot enough during the day for enough days in a row, to grow quality Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2017, Castro Valley had the most ideal climate of the three areas, bearing the most hot days that dropped to very cold nights. I plan to reexamine these criteria for a 2020 data set as well.

One thing I always loved about making ceramic sculptures was at the end, I had created an object. Something to hold, something tangible. When I create a wine, I feel the same sense of enthusiasm which is activated and furthered when I pour the wine for someone and they love it.

SFAI: Where do you find inspiration for your work?

SR: I find inspiration in everything around me. My 4-year old daughter and her observations about the world are definitely a source of inspiration for me. The way she sees the world is so refreshing. We will see an ant crawling on the ground and follow it for as long as we can, observing its movement and trajectory. Nature is a big source of inspiration for me as well. The way the sunlight spills through windows in the ethereal way it does. The way that cloud formations interact in fluidity.

I love being inspired by the mundane. The way my hair collects on the shower wall and reminds me of cubism. The art of fermentation is absolutely fascinating for me.

Being alive is an art. The way the living mourn the dead is an art. We are art. Art is everywhere and art is everything.

SFAI: What is your process for creating your work?

SR: When I am creating a wine, it all starts in the vineyard. I will usually pick the fruit in September, but the process for making that wine starts in March. In March the vines start to come out of dormancy from the winter months. The vines flower and bloom and we start obsessively monitoring the weather for wind and rain which can disrupt the grape vines process by knocking flowers off the vine. We monitor the growth of the grapevine all season long and by July I need to be in all 40+ of the vineyards I work with measuring sugar content. Once I taste the fruit, and run labs on it checking for pH, total acidity and Nitrogen content, I decide when to pick the fruit, if it is physiologically ripe. We pick the fruit at midnight and bring it to the winery in Alameda.

When I add yeast to the grapes or juice, that is the beginning of the transformation. The yeast is alive, and its only desire in life is to eat sugar. The yeast will eat the sugar in the grapes and produce alcohol and CO2. I punch the grapes down multiple times per day. The grapes will change within a single day. At 8 am, they are in a different phase of fermentation than at 8pm.

A complete alcoholic fermentation takes about 14 days.

Depending on the wine, I either put the grapes through the crusher, or I foot stomp them. On a Pinot noir, if I want to make sure the finished wine has spice notes, I will footstep the grapes with the stems still in the bins and begin the fermentation. I taste the fermentation every day and once I have the mouthfeel and flavor profile I want, I will press the wine off of the skins and the stems. Too much stem contact can create a vegetal flavor. Just the right amount of stem intact can create a lovely spice component that can only come from the aforementioned process.

If I am making a Chardonnay, I will put the grapes directly into the press and press the juice out of them. Then I rack the juice down to French and American oak barrels and I inoculate (add yeast) to each single barrel. I put those barrels in a cold space and ferment them “low and slow” at 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping the temperature low, slows down the yeast and on a white wine fermentation that pace keeps the fruit qualities and the acid intact. If I fermented them at room temperature, the yeast would get too excited and eat through the sugar like it was is last meal. The result would be a Chardonnay that lacks fruit depth and intricate flavors. It is all art.

SFAI: Are there any opportunities to come and see your space?

SR: I would love for you to come to the winery and come check out the space, the wine and our stunning view of SF.

On June 29th, we are having an event called Urban Sip. We will be pouring 30+ wines from our portfolio paired with some of our fave Bay Area restaurants. Click the link to see deets: http://www.rockwallwines.com/events

Our Tasting Room is open 7 days a week and so is our restaurant partner Scolari’s. Click the link to check out the website: http://www.rockwallwines.com/Tasting

#SFAI ALUMNI #sfaialumni

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